The Willow Maiden
by LadyPorpoise
Summary: None of the princes were married. Legolas has been betrothed to a healer for many years now, waiting for the day when Greenwood was free of the taint so he could marry his bride. But what of the crown-prince, as heir to the throne? It is a sad tale, and one of heartache for Thondir to recall. It was mere days when they would marry before an unfortunate tragedy struck...


_A/N This one has been on my mind for a long time. This is HEAVILY inspired by the song "The Willow Maid" by Erutan. I mean, it screamed a Mirkwood tale to me given how I write about it and all. There were various versions I wanted to do it with: with the lyrics (except the guidelines say no lyrics that aren't public domain...) or a memorial-play._

 _I said in Vine-Fairy I don't do anything sexual in my writings, or try not to. When I say that I mean I don't try to be sensual with it like some people do. It's a bit hard to avoid it in this kind of story because of the lust issue. When I do romance, I am very chaste and chivalrous with it, and I love that kind of writing. If it's unavoidable then it's very very brief and undetailed. It ain't "ooohhh ahhh" or blatantly passionate. This is mainly because of my convictions and I want to respect and maintain that (and as everyone else: what I dream about and want to see in the real world. The good parts obviously.)_

 _My writing style with this also is a lot different than what it is normally I think, due to the affect I want to create. You judge that though._

 _(Because MistressofImladris brought it up: this is set before Vine-Fairy timeline wise and is canon. o.o)_

 _Basic Disclaimers...especially to the song this is inspired and heavily based off of._

* * *

In a grove near the edge of the forest, the sound of laughter echoed throughout. Around the tall willow tree two elves: a maiden and man, ran about chasing each other.

"My lord, please!" The lady shouted amidst her giggling. She carried her long hair in her arms less it catch on the roots.

"Please what?" came the answer. "I only want to give you a hug!"

"You will ruin my vine-work if you do!"

"Nonsense, it is indestructible as far as I am concerned."

The lady 'eeped' as she was caught in his arms. Willingly she dropped her pile of hair and hugged him in return. "Oh Thôndir, what an unusual pair we make."

"Unusual to us, but the rest think we are perfect." The crown-prince answered warmly. "Not to worry, Gwachenis, soon we shall be together in our own place, away from the cave and this lonely spot."

"My lord, I must stay a while longer to finish my task." Gwachenis mourned. "It would not take long, but my duties to my lady…"

"You and your sisters value my mother's request too much, but your efforts are most treasured." Thôndir held one of her hands up close. "You can continue to serve the kingdom once we have wed."

"Very well, but be swift in preparations, lord. I shall wait here for your return."

"I will come ere the week is out." Thôndir kissed her hand and dashed away.

Gwachenis sighed happily and quickly began to tend to her tree and gardens, singing as she did. She needed to prepare the tree to live by itself after so long having an elf be its 'mother' essentially.

The maid carried on with her joyful labor when she heard someone approach. Quickly she retreated to the branches, but her bright hair did not conceal her among the branches. Below the tree stood a mortal man, enraptured by what he saw-the elf-maid.

"Ne'er has mine eyes seen such beauty," he uttered quietly, though elven hearing picked it up. "Hast the gods shown me providence and good fortune?" The mortal fell onto one knee. "Please, fair one-come with me to my home."

Gwachenis stared with wide eyes at this request. A part of her felt humored, another disturbed. She: the betrothed to the crown-prince of Greenwood, to be stumbled upon by a simple mortal? And the villages outside the forest were increasing their animosity toward the star-folk. Instead, the elf-maid smiled softly.

"Sir, I cannot go, for I await someone to return here, of which I shall not return to this place in the foreseeable future. Surely you may encounter more of my kind if you travel further."

The man's admiration broke for a second to displeasure. Silently he stood and left the glade.

Gwachenis watched the man leave and finally acknowledged the anxiety she had developed in this brief encounter. The willow-maid sighed in relief. Nothing poor came of it, and she could continue with her caretaking while she waited for her prince…

* * *

A day passed without anything out of the ordinary like the day prior. Gwachenis gathered some seeds in a pouch from the garden. But again, she heard someone approach and turning she beheld the same man that came before. Gwachenis stood still, trying hard to ignore the enraptured gaze the human gave her.

She then noticed the flower he held, and he presented it to her, again on one knee. The maiden did not take it.

"My lady, please, heed my request: it is the gods' wish that we be together! Long have I prayed to meet one as fair as you, gentle of heart. Come and let us be one."

"Never," Gwachenis spat unintentionally. "I am bound to another, sir, and he and I shall be one. You long for something you cannot have. I will not go, and it would be wise if you do not come back."

The willow-maiden turned her back as she walked back to her tree house. She did not see the look of rage and frustration in the mortal's face as he tossed the flower down and stormed back into the forest.

Gwachenis felt fear. She looked over her shoulder to see if her pursuer was gone. Thankfully he was, but the woman did not feel at ease. "I need to leave…I have to…I know where the palace is, Thôndir would find me. He would understand."

But gazing at her tree, she felt guilty in thinking to shirk her responsibility so soon. Yes, she would cease her work when her prince came back, but it did not seem right to do so. She and her sisters swore to fulfill their duty to the last breath.

"One more day," Gwachenis whispered to herself and to the willow. "I must be faithful to my promise to the king and queen."

* * *

She kept to her vow, driven by her conviction to help protect a portion of the forest. And the wood-elves were losing much ground rather fast. Alas does this tale take an unfortunate turn…

Gwachenis had her few belongings packed, and she readied to leave. Her ears yet again picked up the sound of someone arriving, and dread filled her soul. She ran out of the house and gasped seeing the man with an axe.

"What are you doing?"

"I will set you free, my love! This supposed man you have fallen for has bound you to this place. You will thank me for this."

"No, do not-!"

Gwachenis did not finish as screams from the tree filled her ears. Having not yet broke her connection to this place it filled her immobilizing pain and shock. The man repeatedly swung the blade into the trunk before the wood groaned. Down the tree fell, giving a last wail of sorrow before it rested on the ground while the house broke into millions of pieces.

The woman could not move nor speak. She could only sob.

"Do not mourn," the mortal tried to comfort her, and Gwachenis felt _loathing_ toward him. She hated his sweet voice. "Soon we shall be happy."

Gwachenis reeled from pain as she felt her soul partially break. Were it not so she would have fought more violently as she was led away from her home.

* * *

Thôndir made haste through the forest in his return to his bride. The prospect of marriage was not the only drive, the urgings of the trees too made him swift on his feet. Approaching the glade, the prince called the maiden's name, but to no avail. Louder he called until it came to an abrupt halt as he beheld the damage done to Gwachenis' tree and home.

"Gwachenis!" Thôndir cried out more desperately. The prince searched for any sign of what may have caused this disaster. He found a discarded axe and the apparent footprints. The latter made the elf wroth. He knew of the precarious situation concerning their reputation with the younger race, but at that moment, he did not care.

He would make them pay.

Filled with a new force, Thôndir followed the trail. The elf's heart beat quickly from anger and dread. What would be a long walk became very short at the speed in which he ran. Before long Thôndir came to the edge of the forest, eyes still locked onto the footsteps of the human.

But he came to an immediate halt on what else he saw, and the longer the elf stared, the more he felt like keeling over.

Gwachenis laid on the ground with arrows penetrating her body. Blood stained her green dress and was invisible in her hair.

Thôndir silently came over to the body, anger gone. A cluster of footprints was in the region too, but it no longer mattered. The prince knelt next to the dead maiden, becoming nauseous of the thought that he would have to remove the arrows-potentially mutilating what beauty remained of his princess.

"I am so sorry I did not come sooner," Thôndir whispered thickly into her hair.

The elf-man stayed that way for what felt like ages. Slowly the anger returned and he raised his eyes toward the path the prints led to. Scornfully he stared thither before scooping Gwachenis into his arms and returned to the forest.

She would receive the honor she was due.

* * *

 _Many years later…_

A young man in his late adolescence wandered the vast forest in search of a good tree to cut. Winter would soon come, and the village needed all the wood it could get for warmth. Music reached his ears, and he followed it ere he shook himself from the spell. The fae folk, everyone told him to _never_ be drawn by their beauty and voice. He would end up dying in the end.

'What's the harm in a tiny look?' The boy reasoned with himself. He would not talk to these strange people and neither make himself known to them.

Tiptoeing across the fallen leaves, cringing as they crunched beneath his feet, he came to a small slope and crawled on his belly to look through the bushes. Dancing around on stepping stones in a pond, the fae-maidens leapt from rock to rock singing in a language he did not understand. The boy listened intently-falling into a dream world, and waking up, he saw that they were gone.

The young man returned to his home at evening without any wood. In a chair, his aged father was staring around anxiously, terrified.

"Dad, there is nothing there," the boy sighed.

"No, there is. Eyes, eyes…they keep coming to make me pay for my crime."

The boy did not know what crime his father committed to be this paranoid. Some of the elders said as a young man the woodsman encountered one of the fae folk and is cursed to be haunted by one for the rest of his life.

Although the boy had not seen these creatures for long, it did not come across to him that they would do such a thing.

He decided not to tell his father what he saw.

The aged man did not notice his son leave, worrying his hands. The wood creaked a little and he gasped.

Out the window, a shadow with glowing green eyes peered in. The owner of said eyes smiled: pleased to have satisfaction for the wrong done against him.


End file.
